"Tomorrow morning a new movie will debut about the incredible bravery of the men fighting for their lives in Benghazi and the politicians that abandoned them," GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz said during his closing remarks of the Fox Business GOP debate on Thursday night.

"January has become the go-to month for war dramas," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak(RENT). "You're not competing with a lot of new blockbusters or big movies in January, and if this one does well it's another example of a war film succeeding in the winter month."

The timing of the film's release has become entangled in presidential politics. Republicans hope it will reflect badly on Hillary Clinton who was Secretary of State at the time of the attack.

"If you look at the marketing for '13 Hours,' Michael Bay is, in a way, the true star of the movie," Dergarabedian said. "He has total action film credibility as a director and historically a massive box office track record with audiences."